E-Posters-10183

10183_Garcia

Pdf Summary

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a condition that occurs due to weakened connective tissue in the pelvic floor, often caused by vaginal childbirth and aging. This study focuses on the proteins LOXL1 and Fibulin-5, which are involved in the synthesis and assembly of elastic fibers. Animal models have shown that the lack of these proteins can lead to the development of POP. Previous studies have analyzed gene and protein expression of LOXL1 and Fibulin-5 in POP, but these methods require invasive tissue samples. <br /><br />The objective of this study is to develop a noninvasive method to determine the levels of LOXL1 and Fibulin-5 proteins in vaginal secretions of women with and without POP. Vaginal secretions were collected using a tampon and stored until analysis. The proteins were then extracted from the secretions and the levels were measured using SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting techniques.<br /><br />The results showed that Fibulin-5 protein expression increased in premenopausal women with Stage II POP compared to controls. The data also suggests that there may be varying levels of LOXL1 and Fibulin-5 expression according to the stage of POP in both pre and postmenopausal women. However, further studies are needed to confirm these findings.<br /><br />Overall, this study successfully developed a noninvasive method to determine the levels of LOXL1 and Fibulin-5 proteins in vaginal secretions. The findings contribute to our understanding of the role of these proteins in the development of POP and provide a potential approach for diagnosing and managing the condition.

Keywords

Pelvic organ prolapse

connective tissue

pelvic floor

vaginal childbirth

aging

LOXL1

Fibulin-5

elastic fibers

noninvasive method

vaginal secretions